More than 140 authors contributed to the 313 guest posts Bleeding Heartland published during 2020–a record number for the fourth year in a row. I’m proud to provide a platform for a wide range of progressive views and grateful for the hard work that went into creating these articles and commentaries.
In the 25 years I’ve been writing about politics, no event has ever dominated people’s lives and headspace like the COVID-19 pandemic. The unfolding disaster inspired many of the posts linked below. Authors raised concerns about the response by state leaders, local officials, or corporate managers. They critiqued excessive secrecy, misleading presentations of data on virus spread, and the public’s detachment from the reality of death. They shared the voices of educators whose work was upended and their own stories of personal grief. Dr. Greg Cohen’s view of the pandemic through the eyes of a rural Iowa doctor was not only the most-viewed Bleeding Heartland post of 2020, but the most-viewed in this site’s fourteen-year history.
Naturally, the election year inspired many commentaries endorsing presidential contenders before the Iowa caucuses, or discussing other state or federal campaigns. After November 3, several authors sought to identify what went wrong for Democratic candidates here and how the party can build support, especially in rural areas. The Iowa legislature’s actions (or lack of action) provided more source material.
Other authors felt compelled to write about the systemic racism, persistent inequities, and police violence that inspired a summer of protests, but left some politicians silent.
A few authors reviewed little-known or rarely remembered events in Iowa history.
Please get in touch if you would like to write about any topic of local, statewide, or national importance during 2021, or if you have wildflower photos or memories to share about an Iowa political figure. If you do not already have a Bleeding Heartland account, I can set one up for you and explain the process. There is no standard format or word limit. I copy-edit for clarity but don’t micromanage how authors express themselves.